Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Sustainable (and Slow) Spring Style

I realized the other day that aside from some brief mentions here and there, I haven't posted much about what I do for a living outside of Bubby and Bean. In addition to working as an artist and blogger, I'm the head designer over at Mountains of the Moon, a sustainable women's wear label. (And yes, I work way too much!) Mountains of the Moon was started ten years ago with a sewing machine set up on a cardboard box, some fabric scraps, and mission to design eco-friendly clothing that was stylish without harming the earth. The rest is history.

The Mountains of the Moon team spends a lot of time researching new eco-conscious fabrics and manufacturing processes, and we're always challenging ourselves to find innovative ways to create collections that are truly environmentally friendly without sacrificing style. Although the type of materials used in a garment and where the garment is produced (local = crucial) are important concepts to eco-fashion, so is the concept of slow fashion. Rather than producing clothing based on short-lived trends from cheap materials, we try to focus on timeless, well-made designs that are made in small batches, will last for years, and will surpass short-lived trends.

Last year, when working on initial plans for our spring/summer 2011 collection, we chose to really emphasize the slow fashion end of sustainable design. I could do entire post on slow fashion, but the main idea is that our culture's love affair with "fast fashion" (inexpensive, poorly-constructed knock-offs of designer clothing that is mass-produced overseas and usually ends up in a landfill) is environmentally destructive. It's not very good for the wallet either, since fast fashion is essentially disposable, because the garment either falls apart or the trend fades so it's no longer wearable. That $20 dress that looks just like the one you coveted from Anna Sui's latest runway show might seem like a steal right now, but five years later when you've bought fifty of those dresses (all of which ended up in the garbage full of holes), you're out $1,000 and you could have gotten two of the real thing (both of which would likely still be beloved parts of your wardrobe).

In the end, we decided that instead of producing all brand new designs for this collection with a ton of different fabrics and colors, we'd rework a few of our most wearable/timeless designs in our two favorite fabrics (organic cotton jersey and hemp/tencel woven), essentially recycle patterns based on our best sellers, and focus on three lovely colors that can be worn year-round. The designs we chose were all pieces that can be styled up or down, worn in a variety of ways, and aren't so trend-based that they'll be unwearable in a year. We also decided that for the first time ever, we'd offer the option for our retail customers to place pre-orders. This would not only allow them the chance for first dibs on sizes and colors before they sell out, it would also allow us to make a small, limited edition spring/summer 2011 collection, ensuring less waste from over-production.

It's been an exciting experience to brainstorm new ways to push the envelope of sustainable fashion design, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how things go this season. If you're interested in seeing more of our designs or being a part of the pre-ordering process, you can check out Mountains of the Moon's website.

11 comments:

Slow fashion - an interesting idea - I think I'd like it! And I love the Zooey dress. The Taylor pants look like a nice change from the endless parade of skinnies. Much as I like skinnies, sometimes I miss the ease of fabric gliding over skin like a cloud, instead of squeezing like a sausage! I'd love to check out the Mountains of the Moon site! Thanks for sharing.

I really love the idea of slow fashion. Some times I look at my bursting closet and wish instead I had way fewer but way nicer and higher quality items. In the end I would have spent the same amount but the nicer pieces outlive by many many years all the crap I buy from forever 21!

As a supporter of sustainable living, I applaud you and Mountains of the Moon for taking on such an important cause. I truly hope more businesses hop aboard the slow train, and I look forward to buying some fashion from you guys soon!

This is so cool!! I like the idea of slow fashion and wish so many stores didn't sell such cheap stuff. Even the ones who claim to use finer materials and better construction (as a justification for higher prices) still fall apart within a year. There's one store in particular that's irked me recently, but I won't name names. Anyway, will definitely check out Mountain of the Moon. Thanks for sharing:)

Thanks so much everyone! It was fun to share a little about Mountains of the Moon and the concepts of slow fashion and eco-fashion here. :) I really only touched on it briefly, so stay tuned for most posts on sustainable clothing in the future!